About Kuonyesha Art Fund
Kuonyesha Art Fund (KAF) exists to support and celebrate art and artists in all their diversity in Africa. Kuonyesha promotes and supports the professional development of the arts in a way that enhances the arts’ meaningful critical influence and participation of art and artists in the issues shaping society and public life in Africa today. Kuonyesha is currently supporting artists in 10 African countries; Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, Rwanda, Namibia, Sudan.
The Kuonyesha Art Fund is hosted and managed by CivFund; an Afro-feminist fund based in Uganda serving Africa. The fund is guided by a distinguished 7-member Advisory Committee comprising renowned artists, cultural practitioners, and art enthusiasts, namely Dr. Maureen Muwanga, Owek. Nuwa Wamala Nnyanzi, Maureen Kalungi, Emily Drani, Ernest Bazanye, Kenneth Kimuli (Pablo), Jimmy Spire Ssentongo.
“Kuonyesha,” a Swahili word meaning “to show,” perfectly captures the fund’s mission to elevate, highlight, and celebrate the arts across Africa. Since its inception in 2019, the Kuonyesha Art Fund has supported over 150 art projects across Africa, involving over 3000 individual artists across a wide range of artistic disciplines in visual, literary and performing arts. 85% of the grants are dedicated to women and persons with disabilities (PWDs). In addition to the grant, Kuonyesha Art Fund offers 100% capacity strengthening and grants plus support to all its partners.
Expanding Kuonyesha’s reach across Africa fosters a richer exchange of ideas, promotes a space for collaboration among artists from diverse backgrounds, and ensures a holistic representation of African art. By supporting artists from various African countries, the Kuonyesha Art Fund is building a stronger, interconnected arts community, capable of addressing the myriad challenges facing the arts and Africa today.
Objectives
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To enhance the vibrancy of the art sector and in so doing legitimize what artists do
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Seek to build bridges between and amongst artists and various art forms
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Support artists to create for their own reasons e.g. expression, freedom, influence community, social and cultural change in various respects.
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Nurture and build confidence amongst artists i.e. the fund recognizes artists in all their diversity and supports them to thrive in whatever they do
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To enable artists to develop new ways of or deepen relations with the audience and/or the community
Mission
To support, promote, celebrate Art and artists in all their diversity in Africa.
WHAT THE FUND DOES NOT SUPPORT
Kuonyesha Art fund will NOT support art projects that incite hatred, violence or any sort of exclusion or discrimination. In this pilot phase Kuonyesha Art fund will not support organisations.
